Feeling Inspired!

I am feeling great.  Fantastic.  Beyond fantastic!  I am feeling inspirational!   It feels so great to get back on the bike.  Nothing more rewarding than riding fast, riding far and riding hard up and down hills, town to town.. I will not burn out.  I will not let that happen.  I am on my way to getting back into peak shape.  I need to put in the effort to maximize my opportunities.  I've got some SWEET racing equipment, an AWESOME team, and a great window of time to ride ride ride.  That's just what I'm going to do.
School is almost done.  What a concept!  So, this weather, unbeatable!!  Also, I've got to give a shout out to my friends.. what would I do without friends.  Friends are so legit.  It's awesome to have support from so many people.  I have been inspired to take my cycling (and photos naturally) to a whole new level.  I can do this, I know I can.  Recently I've been really enjoying going to Awakening in Paradise and being surrounded by so many awesome individuals that are my age and see things the way I do.  Focusing on no one more important than God Himself.  I have to remind myself not to get caught up in the little things, the things that can easily derail me or cause me to lose track.  Constantly I remind myself that with God all things are possible, and that if I trust in Him I'm not going to "fail" or anything like that.  A comforting thought, that's for sure.  I am looking forward to some big races in the near future, as well as big milestones such as finishing Butte and beginning Davis.  (That's a big one, that I'm still nervous about, but I've got this!)
Anyways, for it being only a Wednesday night, I'm feeling darn good about this week!

Night everyone.

Phase two

I'm on a mission..

It's time to get back on the bike and ride a lot.  I have some big races coming up, most significant of them would be the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic.  That's like in a month.. ehh!  So, the photos went well, but now it's time to take this cycling to the next level! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_Z3D1535Jo
Something like that.. haha

Just washed my car, feeling good, now time find some dinner and hangout with my friend! Great way to start the week!

Deep..

I found this when Facebook randomly popped up with old messages..

Interesting.. haha


I like most in a girl her smile, because that feels like an opening, like an invitation to start with. And, a smile is reassuring.. It means to me that I'm doing SOMETHING right.. and, with that smile often times I see more that of course makes me feel better about myself.

my favorite time of the year is this time of the year, when you feel it cooling off and you have this great appreciation for the change in weather! And, you realize how nice it is before the nasty winter hits. haha

I have contact lenses, and I don't like glasses. I wore glasses my entire sophomore year. I can't believe I DID that! haha I used to wrestle my sophomore year without contacts! haha what a dumb idea! but I am near sited.. so that meant I couldn't see far. but my vision is getting worse and I don't think I could pull that off anymore. lol my favorite color would be the blue-green color scheme.. it's just a relaxing color. I don't see it as "cool", I see it as refreshing. I try not to associate it with water, because i am not a fan of water. I really don't like water sports. it's just seriously not my thing. I don't swim unless I have to, I don't like the process of getting wet, drying off. I love the weightless feeling, but idk, just not my thing. haha

my favorite "best thing".. natural thing. hmmm oh my there are too many things! I LOVE being outdoors! just to observe life.
I love a sunrise. If you haven't seen a sunrise, I recommend it.
Go into the nature to see one though, that adds so much.
the anticipation of that firey ball climbing it's way behind the earth.. and then there it is, shining in it's full glory changing everything around you. It's crazy how we take a day for granted, when we hardly even realize how that day came about.. that the sun came up each and every morning.. and we MISSED IT?? how could we! but ahh, sleep. so addicting. haha
I love the rain on pavement. on dirt, on plants. soo refreshing! plus, its that natural thing that makes it so much more rewarding. Think about it, if we had "spray" that we could spray to imitate that smell, then it would just be like "ehh, yea, that smell. ugh not so cool anymore.."
I love lightening.. soooooo impressive. but scary at the same time. I like it because it really give me a sense of my frailty compared to the sheer power of the natural world..

I did have a hero..
but, like many others.. he cheated just to do what he had to.. to stay on top.
so, that has changed my view on heroes..
I don't buy into that heroic crap anymore. I look for the true heroes.. the ones that give up themselves for others. the true altruistic ones.. the ones that inspire me to be a better person, to be less selfish and help others..
I can't pinpoint any heroes, I just know that they are out there..
and, what makes me even more appreciate them is the fact that doing those kinds of things shows a strong relationship with God, doing such things that God would be thankful for, things that honor God. It just makes me want to be a better Christian, trying not to get caught up in these earthly possessions..

I am claustrophobic to a certain degree. It's not like I freak out, I just get really cranky and realize that hmmm, I probably shouldn't be in this place.. like, working inside a car engine. I just get frustrated.. mainly with tight places and working with highly detailed things. (but of course, I always am the one ending up with that task)..
ya know those architecture models of like the small scaled cities?
well, I would flip if I had to assemble one of those little skyscrapers.. lol I just can't do the micro detail. I can, but it drives me off the wall.. and when I'm done, people are like "wow you are amazing!" but I am standing there wanting to rip someone's head off.. haha

Anthony Ferretti September 14 at 9:22pm
I like bikes. I think they are cool, and it's fun to get on one and cruise around the neighborhood and feel the fresh air run through your hair and feel the blood flowing through your body  and it's always nice too to hear that hum of the tires when you're on a cruiser, or the hum of the gears if you are on a road bike.. ahh
I like going fast, and to a certain degree, I like pain. The pain is almost an incentive like hey work harder and soon you can get past that pain, so next time you CAN do that without as much pain!
I do NOT believe in evolution. strongly don't. bottom line.. I believe the earth was created in 6 days, etc. lol 7th was for resting. lol
I have two iPods.. but my sister is permanently stealing my blue nano. her's died and she took mine..
and I have an itouch. I love it to death. that thing is a part of my life. I can do so much on there, incredible!
so yay for music!

Update

After a long weekend, I've got a few things to say.

First off, what an AWESOME stage race!  It looked so awesome to be in, and I had a great time photographing the entire event. (aside from the TT).   Also, man alive, I am so tired! still, I need to catch up on sleep.  Yet I still have all the photos to go through and post. People are waiting on me patiently, but wow it's a lot of work!  I am not sure if people realize that.  And, oh, man this morning I had a brutal mid term in History.  75 questions, 1 hour.  Complete madness.  I still love that class!  I would love to post a few photos from the weekend, yet I haven't even gone through them all yet! So instead, I'll post like one for now.
This is me out on the gravel road where I waited ALL day taking pictures of the racers..

Thoughts on tomorrow's assignment

I have been designated as the photographer for this weekend's Chico Stage Race.

I am extremely happy to take on this challenge.  There is nothing I love more than taking photos of a sport I love.  Cycling is a beautiful sport.  There is practically no possible way you could take a "bad" photo of a cycling race.

I am just worried that I won't maximize the opportunity during the road race.  I know I can only be in one place at one time, yet of the whole road race I feel like why limit myself to one spot?? The issue with moving around is missing other categories at other spots (naturally)..
I'm still debating on how I will approach tomorrow.  It's going to be a long day regardless, and plenty of photo opportunities!  With the P/1/2 and other categories that do two laps, I think it would be fun to follow in a sag car and get shots among the group, close personal shots.. mix it up a bit.  They could be the real winners! (some beastly racer suffering in the break on the second lap, seeing the pain on his face as he takes his pull. you get the idea..)

As for now, I go to bed.  Testing out the zoom lens and gear provided by Dave, I had HUGE success with the softball games.  Man alive, lenses are what make or break a photo!! (that's why you pay good money for a "good" lens!!)  I'll post a few pics. Just a few..

Dentist Visit

I am writing this, having just visited the office.  Personally I've never ever enjoyed going to the dentist's office.  I had been dreading this day since Sunday, January 16th.  The dreadful moment when I saw what looked like a cavity on the side of my molar.. I was in Breckenridge, CO at the time, enjoying the fourth day of an eleven day trip.  At the time I pushed the thought aside and enjoyed the trip. (but brushed my teeth three times a day ever since)  This morning I went in to get a filling.. It's a strange situation when you're on your back with this beam of light coming down on you and you've got two people staring into your mouth, making comments and "observations" to each other, discussing the game plan using terminology that's way over my head.  First the numbing, as the dentist says "This will only pinch a bit" (that stereotypical dentist line, right?), then after that kicks in they start bringing out the big tools.  I have always contemplated what's better, staring intensely at the light right above my head (and seeing the tools and smoke and water spray in front of me), or close my eyes which then directs my attention to the feelings of the vibrations and whatever else I can detect that's going on in my mouth.  Either way, it's awkward, and it's hard to keep yourself from staring at the tools or noticing the focused looks on the people working above me.  I give dentists credit:  They are always very confident no matter what they are doing, which makes me feel quite comfortable.  They are also very cheerful which helps disguise the reality of the process of working on teeth. I heard in the background "We're going to do a root canal today" in a cheerful voice (rather than "We're going to do a root canal... bummer... " in a 'that stinks to be you' voice).  One last thing.. when they were working on me, I could slightly feel it when they were drilling away at the side of my tooth. I wasn't sure if I should have told them or if that's normal because it's SO PAINFUL that you can feel it over the anesthesia.  And, one other last thing.. It's a bit strange when you see them put the heating tool (the one that instantly cures the filling) in your mouth, you see the blue light glowing.  I always hope that they won't slip and end up heating my gums or tongue or something like that.

Glad that's over with.. for now.

Lesson learned?  Floss better!!

Coolest Dog in the World

This dog is the best.

Work!

Today I was blessed with the opportunity to work up at Linda's cabin and clear some trees that had fallen on their property.  What's better than getting paid to make a bonfire?  Well, okay.. it wasn't just a bonfire.  I had to do hard work, so I earned my money.  But, my point is that it was a great day.  I don't have any photos, however I can tell you we had a heaping fire going alright.  There were lots of trees that went down in the bad storm a couple weeks ago so Robin cut them off the trunks and I dragged the limbs to the fire.  That, and we moved the piles of scrap wood to the fire as well.  Lots of things to burn today!  As always, I was well fed.  I walked in to say I was here and Linda had breakfast with her friends going.  I had some of that to start the day, as well as an awesome lunch that Adam would have been jealous of.  She got the bread and meat from the Wagon Wheel like last time.  Oh man, so delicious!
My day has been quite productive.  Now, to wash my car.  That, or edit photos.  Or... be responsible and do my reading for History 12 this weekend that's due Tuesday.  Ehh.. I vote wash the car :)